


Romeo Time

by celli



Series: Valentine's Day [2]
Category: JAG
Genre: F/M, First Time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-03-12
Updated: 2002-03-12
Packaged: 2017-10-12 20:45:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/128869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celli/pseuds/celli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who would've thought that losing a little blood could lead to such a life-altering decision?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Romeo Time

**Author's Note:**

> Spoiler: Nothing explicit except a reference to "The Measure of Men," but anything that's aired in the US is fair game. Takes place shortly after "Head to Toe."

14 FEB 2002  
2330 ZULU  
NORTH OF UNION STATION  
WASHINGTON, DC

Harm walked in his door, leaned back against it, and groaned. "...you moron," he muttered. "Complete moron."

He dragged himself upright and headed for the bathroom. "It wasn't bad enough you have a little problem with needles. No, you had to demonstrate it by passing out in the middle of the damn bullpen!

"And then you over-reacted to...to whatever look Mac was or wasn't giving you." He splashed a handful of water on his face and down his uniform jacket. "Ah...moron!" he repeated in disgust as he yanked at his clothes.

When the doorbell rang a few minutes later, Harm fastened his jeans and grabbed the first sweater that came to hand. He raced barefoot to the door.

"Mac!"

"Hi there." She was wearing a red, form-fitting sweater and jeans and carrying a jacket. "Can I come in?"

"Oh! Absolutely." Harm stepped back to let her in, shaking his head slightly to clear it. He should have kept his face in the water longer. A lot longer. "I'm sorry, I just got home."

"Harm! You told me when I left that you were on your way out." Mac looked like she was trying with all her might not to scold him. He appreciated it.

"I was. I mean, I meant to, I mean--" He took a deep breath and started over. "I got distracted and lost track of time, that's all."

Mac sat down on the couch. "It's a good thing I came over, then."

"Why did you come over?" He perched on the edge of the couch. "This isn't exactly on the way home."

"I was a little concerned."

"I'm fine, really."

"Harm." She looked him square in the eyes for the first time since she'd arrived. "Something's going on. You were acting...strangely this afternoon, and I don't think the blood loss was causing it."

"How was I acting strangely?"

"It was more, I don't know, personal."

Harm stiffened. "Is this going to be another one of _those_ conversations?"

"What?"

"You know. _Those_ conversations." He ticked the steps off on his fingers. "We try to work out our personal relationship. Things get emotional. Whatever I say comes out completely wrong. You get offended. One of us leaves."

Mac seemed to shrink in her seat. "Oh, one of those conversations." She sighed. "I guess not." She stood up and reached for her jacket.

 _Or you could just jump right to the end,_ Harm berated himself. "Wait, Mac. I'm sorry. Please don't go."

She sat on the very edge of the couch, still holding her jacket. Harm took a deep breath. He sat down next to her and laid a tentative hand on her shoulder. "Let's try this again, okay? Thanks for coming over. I appreciate it."

"Sure." She was still looking wary. "Uh, where's Sergei?"

"He had a date. Someone he met at the INS, do you believe it?" Harm couldn't help but smirk as he imitated his brother. "'After all, Harm, it is Valentine's Day. Is that not a national holiday in your country?' He also told me not to expect him back tonight."

Mac was smiling. "Good for him. I'd just about forgotten what day it was."

"Really?"

She shrugged. "I was trying not to think about it."

"Sure." The awkwardness was back; it was reflected in Mac's expression and in this pit of his stomach. "So. Ah." He took another deep breath and--"I was acting weird, huh?"

"Well..." He watched her struggle for words. "You were looking at me," she said simply. "You usually don't look at me that way at work. You save it for one of--" she gestured--" _those_ conversations."

"You were looking at me the same way." His voice had dropped to a near-whisper. He couldn't believe they were actually talking. He was terrified he was going to say something wrong; he could barely force words out. "The same way."

He had no memory of putting his arms around her, but she was practically in his lap, and her arms were around him too. "Harm, I asked you once what you were willing to give up for me."

"Yeah, and you didn't stay long enough to hear the answer." They were too close now, physically and emotionally, for hiding. Harm knew the pain he felt was obvious.

Hers was too. "I was afraid. When you couldn't answer right away, I--"

"Shh." Harm pressed his lips to her cheek. "I have an answer for you now. Do you want to hear it?"

"I...I hope so." He could feel her lips trembling slightly against his ear.

"Okay. Stay here." He untangled their limbs and pressed her back against the couch. "Stay here," he repeated. "I have to get something."

He could hear her bewildered, "Harm?" as he dashed into his bedroom.

He was back a moment later to find her ramrod-straight on the couch. He knelt in front of her. Her hands were clasped together tightly; he took one of them and placed something in it.

Mac looked down and traced the gold wings with one finger. "Harm..."

He closed her hand around the pin and covered it with his own. "I would give up anything for you, Sarah. I'm sorry I didn't tell you that before." He managed a half-smile. "I'm not sure I knew myself until just now."

Her eyes were bright. "I would never ask you to stop flying."

"I know. And I don't want to." He bent his head to press a kiss to her fingers. "But if I had to, I would. If I have to leave JAG, I will." He felt a hand come up to caress the back of his neck.

"What do I say to that?"

Harm raised his head until they were nose-to-nose. "Whatever you want."

She kissed him--a full-blown, open-mouthed, passionate kiss. By the time she pulled away from him, Harm's brain had all but shut down. He gasped for breath. "Or you could not say anything."

She laughed and kissed him again.

***

The part of Harm's brain that calculated fuel loads and g-forces (and cross-examinations) was alert enough to note two things. The first was that Mac felt really, really, _really_ good. A couple of stolen kisses were one thing, but full-body contact against his couch was...The second was that they still hadn't had "the" conversation yet. He ordered that part of his brain to stand down for the night, before he made yet another colossal mistake. "Tomorrow," he mumbled.

"Hmm?" Mac--Sarah--had worked his sweatshirt partway up, and her short nails were kneading into his back.

"Nothing. Nothing." He pulled them both to their feet and made his way, mostly by memory, to his bed, half-dragging her behind him. "Come on."

Her laughter was muffled as she dragged her sweater off. "I'm trying. It's those damn long legs of yours--"

Harm felt the bed hit the back of his legs and flopped down. He pulled Sarah forward until she was standing between his knees. "Is that better?"

She had to lean down to kiss him now. Between the two of them they finished the job on his sweatshirt. She leaned into him even more and dragged her mouth from the corner of his neck to the outside of his shoulder.

He felt just the slightest pressure of her teeth on his arm. "Oh, God, Sarah..." His hands reached blindly for her. He felt his way around to the clasp of her bra and released it.

Sarah threw her head back and sucked in a deep breath. The view from Harm's position on the bed was--unforgettable.

Harm collapsed onto his back, pulling Sarah down with him. They landed in a tangle of arms and hands and giggles. Well, chuckles. Marines didn't giggle, and Harm wouldn't--although he made a suspiciously high-pitched noise when one of her hands wandered across his side.

She lifted her head and fixed him with an I-noticed-that look. Harm grabbed her chin and kissed her quickly, before she could get too distracted.

Apparently it worked. She dropped her hands to the mattress on either side of his head and made a small humming sound in the back of her throat. He left her mouth, kissed his way down her throat and chest. He lifted himself up on one elbow to get a better angle. It was awkward as hell, and his neck would hurt the next morning, but...they both groaned when he slid his hand up to one breast and took the other in his mouth. She shifted, straddling him. Even with the separation of two pairs of jeans, Harm was on fire. He moved to her other breast, sucking with as much pressure as he could.

Sarah rolled, and they were side-by-side on the bed, fingers reaching frantically for buttons and zippers. Her boots caused a lightheaded moment, trying to remember where he'd left the condoms last time he cleaned caused another ("I guess you don't wear those shoes very often." "Shut up, Colonel.")

Letting her put it on him caused a different kind of light-headedness; Harm clutched at the sheets and thought fixedly about anything _but_ her hair brushing his chest and her breath on his stomach until she finished.

"Sarah? Are you--" Ready? Sure? He wasn't sure how to finish, but he felt her body opening to his, and thank God, because there were no words to describe right now. Except maybe "finally."

***

Harm knew intellectually that having sex with someone for the first time, even when you cared so much about them, wasn't supposed to be the last reel of a porn film or the last chapter of a romance novel. It took time and patience and skill to find your way with a new lover.

Making love with Sarah had shattered all those preconceptions. It was as if the gods of intimacy knew that everything was balanced precariously as it was; that given the slightest opportunity to step back, they would, and their new relationship would be over before it had started.

Or maybe it was just five years of friendship, of teasing, of arguing, of protecting each other revealing themselves for what they were: a heck of a lot of foreplay. He smiled into the dark. "You were right about one thing, Sarah."

"What?" She was curled into the pillow next to him. He could feel her lips move on the side of his neck.

"You do have great timing."

He could feel her laugh, too.

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Notes: I'd like to dedicate this story to the people at fanfiction.net, who were overwhelmed with traffic at 2AM, so I had to finish my story instead of reading other people's fic. Let's hear it for bandwidth problems! I'd also like to thank TJ Mallon, who's probably never heard of me in her life. :) She is the keeper of the "Dress Whites and Roses" page, which was an invaluable reference. And, as always, thanks to my beta readers: Jen and AeroGirl (who provided the summary, yay!).
> 
> Story Notes: The title comes from military shorthand for the Eastern time zone.


End file.
